


A Sweet Partnership

by CatMeisterCoal



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol, Animal Attack, Drug reference, Explosions, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Wound Tending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:13:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28492194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatMeisterCoal/pseuds/CatMeisterCoal
Summary: Cosmos is on a job to bring back the notorious spy, Soundwave but things stand in the way of that making his -at first- very simple job all the more complex especially when feelings get in the mix.
Relationships: Cosmos/Soundwave (Transformers), Soundwave&Soundblaster
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24
Collections: Secret Solenoid '20-'21





	A Sweet Partnership

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dildo_Swaggins_T_Baggins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dildo_Swaggins_T_Baggins/gifts).



Cosmos swirls the drink in his hand, uninterested in its contents with its viscous consistency and the glittering bits that make the green and purple hues look like an oil spill. With how much Nightmare Fuel and Star Buster is in the concoction in his hand, there’s no way he’d ever want to drink this. Thankfully, he doesn’t need to since it’s just for appearances after all as he leans against the wall in a secluded corner of this hole torn into an old star cruiser that crashed into the desolate moon of Zarix-31 in a war from so long ago that not even the Cybertronians remember it. Now, this once glorious war machine made for battle among the stars with weapons designed for slicing through asteroids is a dive bar that attracts the worst scum of the galaxy to come ogle at exotic dancers both organic and synthetic. The loud, bass-filled music fills the room as neon colors pulsate along with the rhythm as laughter and voices weave in and out of it, as patrons try to compete with the music in order to hold something like a conversation. Cosmos couldn’t care less about any of this, he has only one task in mind.

A somber mech with a much more demure paint job makes their way through the undulating crowd of dancing life forms to Cosmos and gestures for him to follow before turning without checking if he was following. Cosmos places his untouched drink on a platter being carried away by a waitress as he stalks slowly behind the mech who leads him down a dim corridor, thick walls dulling the music to a faint thrum making it all too quiet very suddenly. They reach a door and the mech puts in a code too quickly for Cosmos to follow before gesturing for Cosmos to step inside. With his best imitation of a casual stride, Cosmos walks into the dimly lit room while palming the gun in his holster, clicking on the safety under the sound of his steps tapping on the polished floor. Even with his spark pulse heightening in the hazy light of the neon bands that stain the room pink he can find some comfort in how this seems to be the only room that doesn’t smell of burned intoxicants and sex. The figure waiting for him at the desk looks up at Cosmos over their intertwined fingers, their green optics strangely tinted in this room. By the large window at the back of the room, another figure stands casually with their arms crossed and red visor glinting in the pale light seeping through the window.

“You’ve gone through great pains to find me, to what do I owe the pleasure?” the mech at the desk’s voice is low and crackling from drug abuse.

“I think you know better than anyone the price on your head,” Cosmos steps in a bit closer, sliding the gun from his holster and letting it point down in an open threat, “I’ve come to bring you in and I expect you to come quietly. Don’t want to start a fuss in a place like this.”

The mech at the desk laughs harshly and leans back with stilted movements that creak with age, “You’re a gutsy one that’s for sure.”  
Looking directly at the mech, Cosmos shrugs one shoulder, “Could say something similar about you.”

“You’re right about that,” the mech mumbles low as he watches Cosmos make his way to one side of the desk.

Cosmos shifts his gaze to the one by the window, “You know, people say you’re the best and that no one’s ever been able to hide from you. That makes you rather famous but what does it say about you to be a famous spy? It’s a bit of an oxymoron don’t you think?”

The mech laughs again and stands up, “I know it’s not exactly ideal-”

“Wasn’t talking to you,” Cosmos snaps to the mech, and faster than they can track, he pulls the trigger of his gun and sends a hot blast of plasma directly between their optics.

As they fall to the ground dead, Cosmos points the end of his gun to the mech by the window who seems unperturbed by this development.

“So, how about it, Soundwave? Is fame treating you well?” Cosmos tilts his head back, smugger than he can ever remember himself being.

Soundwave sighs and pushes away from the wall to face Cosmos.

“I thought that ruse would last at least a few moments longer,” Soundwave walks in an easy gate closer to Cosmos.

“I guess you underestimated me,” Cosmos flexes his hand on his gun and widens his stance ever so slightly, his surety lessening with every step Soundwave takes.

“I suppose I did,” Soundwave stops just a few paces from Cosmos, “Don’t worry… I won’t make that mistake again.”

In a flash of movement, Soundwave’s hand is gripped around Cosmos’ wrist as the gun goes off wide into the air, scorching the ceiling. Cosmos uses Soundwave’s momentum to pull him closer by dragging his hand still tightly gripping his gun down. He swipes at Soundwave’s head with his free hand but Soundwave tilts his head out of the way just in time and catches Cosmos on the backswing, locking him in place. A burst of pain spikes in Cosmos’ arm as Soundwave’s knee collides with his arm and he reflexively drops his gun. Using Soundwave’s moment of imbalance to twist him down onto the floor, knocking the air from their vents only to be swiftly kicked off. They both scramble to their feet out of reach of the other. Their optics lock, tension building as they flex their joints in anticipation as they watch for an attack. It’s suddenly very still in the room and quiet enough that they can hear each other vent, shallow and in quick bursts. Just out of the corner of his optic, Cosmos can see his discarded gun and knows that Soundwave is eyeing it as well. Even so, Soundwave looks as confident as ever which makes Cosmos feel… admittedly uneasy.

Rolling his shoulders Soundwave starts to speak, “Let’s-”

They’re both knocked away with enough force to slam them against the wall as an explosion goes off in the room next to them. Shrapnel and chunks of concrete go flying around them then all at once, it’s over. Cosmos shakes his helm as a piercing tone rings in his audials and he stumbles to his pedes trying to look around only to find the lights blown out by the explosion leaving the dust-filled room dark. There’s movement next to him and finds Soundwave coming to his senses as well, his movements sluggish as he regains himself. Their optics meet for a few seconds, neither of them knowing what to do. Then footsteps disturb the scene and Soundwave’s optics flicker briefly to the now broken window. With a speed that surprises Cosmos in their current state, Soundwave hops the window sill and clambers into the alley below. Cosmos curses but with the approaching individuals that Cosmos can only assume were responsible for the explosion he follows Soundwave out the window to find the alley too small to fly in so he resigns himself to running in pursuit of the sound of Soundwave’s retreat. In the middle of a crossroad among a bunch of decrepit, shambled-together buildings, Cosmos loses track of the sound, with everything going quiet altogether. Cosmos looks around frantically for any sign of him, his vents clouding the cold air.

Then, almost out of range, a soft grunt echoes down an alley and Cosmos runs after it. At a dead-end, Cosmos finds Soundwave waiting for him and a chill runs over his plating and it takes him to realize it isn’t from Soundwave’s piercing gaze but the sudden rain shower that’s steadily growing around them. Soundwave tilts his helm in curiosity at Cosmos, still aggravatingly calm as he takes Cosmos in, unconcerned by the droplets rolling over his dark plating making it sparkle and shine in the low light given off by a haphazard street light.

“You didn’t wait for your back up?” Soundwave’s voice carries easily over the pounding of the rain.

Cosmos still feels like he has to shout though, “I thought those were your guys.”

Cosmos’ spark sinks as they both come to the same realization. Heavy footfall of running mechs sounds from behind Cosmos and he turns around in time to find a small company of heavily armed Cybertronians pointing their guns at the two of them. Their dark armor makes it hard to parse out how many of them there are in the shadows of the alley but with how many gun-muzzles Cosmos can see, he knows there’s too many for them to take on even if they were to team up. Slowly, Cosmos backs up until he’s shoulder-to-shoulder with Soundwave. They watch as someone they assume to be the leader weave their way through the pack until they reach the front to smirk at the two of them.

“Now this is a pleasant surprise,” they purr, “the famous spy and the little bounty hunter that’s been a pain in my aft for far too long.”

“Lockdown,” they say together and the green and black mech grins at them wide, showing off his crooked, sharp denta.

“Ah, so you do know me. Glad to know I’ve left an impression,” Lockdown throws his arms out wide as if greeting old friends as he speaks then a shadow passes over his face, darkening his expression, “Alright, enough formalities. Don’t let them live to see another day.”

As the first few shots begin to sound off, Soundwave steps forwards and blasts and ear-splitting sound from his speakers, knocking their adversaries off their feet and making them flinch to cover their audials in pain. Soundwave grips Cosmos’ arm tightly and drags him to the side, opening a secret door Cosmos would have never guessed was there to pull him along dark corridor after dark corridor. Cosmos tries to tear from Soundwave’s grasp or slow down but finds himself still too disoriented from the explosion and the exhaustion from chasing down Soundwave. At least, he thinks it’s that. He has no idea how Soundwave can still have so much energy as his pedes begin to feel sluggish and heavy. Finally, they stop in a room that Cosmos couldn’t even begin to guess the purpose of but he can hear it as Lockdown’s shouting and the sound of his men running fades away into the night. They must have followed them for a short while but Soundwave was able to lose them. Soundwave did because Cosmos couldn’t have with how fuzzy his processor feels and how tired he feels suddenly. Gripping his helm he leans against a wall only to collide with it roughly and sink to his knees as he loses the ability to support himself. Soundwave takes notice of this and comes over to put a hand on Cosmos’ shoulder.

“We can’t stay here,” Soundwave shakes Cosmos after he doesn’t respond for a while, “Lockdown will find us here. We need to go somewhere secure.”

Cosmos slowly twists to sit against the wall as an ache begins to settle in his side rising to an immobilizing pain. Looking down, he removes his hand away from the spot only for it to come away bright pink with energon and sees the streams running down his frame from the hole in his side. A piece of shrapnel found its way into his side and managed to tear through several of his fuel lines. At the rate the energon is running out of him, he’ll be dead in a matter of minutes. 

“Oh,” Cosmos lets out flatly and Soundwave’s optics follow Cosmos’ line of sight only to widen at the sight of the injury.

Cosmos passes out, no longer able to stay awake and he vaguely hears Soundwave say something but it’s muffled in his dizziness and the world goes dark.

* * *

Cosmos wakes up to a quiet room of some dingy hotel that could be any of its ilk anywhere in the universe. It has all the same questionable stains and odd smells that they all have and uncomfortable berths that always left you drained in the morning no matter how long you recharged. Running his hand over his side to find his wound tended to with the piece of shrapnel removed, lines likely welded, and covered in synthetic mesh that would allow his nanites to do their work. He still feels sluggish and slow, his mind not quite catching up with his situation as he registers a small weight on his shoulder. It turns out to be a blue servo and as his optics trace along the arm it’s attached to, he finds the recharging form of Soundwave next to him, in the same berth next to him. Soundwave is recharging in the same berth as him right next to him after being the one to heal him. With the thoughts finally fully aligned in his processor, Cosmos jolts up and hops off the berth to look for a weapon only to wince in pain and grip his side. He’s pulled back so he’s leaning against the berth and he looks to find Soundwave looking at him harshly.

“You almost died,” Soundwave hisses as he pulls Cosmos into the berth, making him lie down once more, “You shouldn’t be moving so quickly the moment you wake up.”

Cosmos shifts as much as he can with Soundwave pressing his weight down on Cosmos’ shoulders to try to get comfortable but finding that to be impossible with one of the most notorious and deadly spies hovering above him he gives up.

“Why exactly am I in a berth with you?” Cosmos jabs Soundwave’s chest with his finger and Soundwave finally relents, sitting up and removing his hands from Cosmos’ person.

“These were the best accommodations I could find under short notice,” Soundwave explains flatly, “and I had no inclination to recharge on the floor.”

“I mean,” Cosmos clears his intake and looks away from Soundwave, staring at the open health kit in the middle of the floor and his optics are drawn to the splatters of energon on the floor, “Why did you save me? I’m trying to bring you in. You could have been without me without even trying.”

When he’s met with silence, Cosmos looks back to see Soundwave watching him carefully, the glare of Soundwave’s uncovered optics setting Cosmos on edge. They’re yellow like hazard lights or the neon lights above Maccadam’s. When did he take off his visor?

“I want you to help me with something,” Soundwave gets off the berth and walks to a table to pick up a datapad.

Cosmos’ attention moves to Soundwave’s hips, to find no weapons but who knows what he could have in his subspace. Other than a few scuffs, Soundwave appears to be unharmed the lucky bastard and he’s not even walking with strained struts which means he must be strong too because he must have carried Cosmos here on his own. Soundwave turns around giving Cosmos a full view of the odd buttons that hint at his altmode like the glass on his broad chest that now has minute cracks in one corner but Soundwave seems unbothered by this. Cosmos freezes when he meets Soundwave’s optics and looks away but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s been caught staring. A datapad is put in front of his face and he looks up at Soundwave dubiously but takes it, looking over the picture of an uncut, purple gemstone and a floor plan of a base he was very familiar with.

“You want me to help you steal this from your own clone?” Cosmos laughs incredulously.

“I do,” Soundwave fills two cubes with energon from a supply in a cold storage unit like the one you’d store lab samples in, handing one to Cosmos.

“Why should I help you?” Cosmos takes the cube and looks at it cautiously but with the pinging in his fuel tank he lets his mask snap back and he drinks it down like it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted.

“I think you’ve already seen how effective you are in trying to capture me,” Soundwave sits down next to Cosmos with an odd look in his optics, “Also, we both know what your client values more in this situation.”

“The plans for the upgraded hyperdrive engine,” Cosmos mutters.

Soundwave nods, taking off his mask to drink some of his energon, and Cosmos can’t help but stare at his fully revealed face thinking that if he went around without his mask that no one would recognize him. Certainly, no one would think he was a spy that’s killed more, ruined more, and stolen more than anyone else in the ‘verse, not looking like that anyway.

“I have them,” Soundwave states simply, letting it settle in the air.

“What?” Cosmos shakes himself from his thoughts.

“I have them.”

“I knew you were working on getting them but you’re telling me you already did without anyone knowing?” Cosmos scoffs and finishes the last of his energon, “Even if I already didn’t already lack any kind of trust in you, I still wouldn’t believe that.”

Without a word, Soundwave pulls out a data unit from his subspace. Cosmos stares at it noting the correct insignia, the specific file code system numeration, the right material, and all the security functions intact. It was the real deal.

“Okay, well,” Cosmos stops and hums in consideration as Soundwave puts it back in his subspace, “What do you need from me?”

“Soundblaster and I have always had some tensions between the two of us,” Soundwave leans back, setting his cube to the side, “He’s never liked being the copy but, I suppose, I have always been the image he is compared to so it’s what he has to be. An imitation.”  
“What does that have to do with this gemstone?” Cosmos looks back at it.

It’s pretty to be sure but the purpose is lost to Cosmos in its entirety.

“It’s value isn’t purely sentimental but this specific one is important to me on a personal level,” Soundwave confesses, looking into the distance suddenly lost in his thoughts, remembering something long ago and far away.

“That’s why he has it?” Cosmos finds himself more confused than before.

Soundwave sighs and runs a hand down his face, “I’m not explaining myself well.”

“No, you aren’t,” Cosmos huffs in annoyance.

Soundwave narrows his optics at Cosmos and leans over to point at the gemstone, “This is a very particular formation of purple diamond that occurs on Cybertron which means it would lose value if it was ever cut. It was a gift from someone very important to me as a representation of not only our very long relationship but as security should I ever find myself in need this would support me.”

“Oh,” Cosmos’ expression softens, “That is important. I guess I can see why you want it back so badly. So, Soundblaster stole it from you?”

Soundwave’s shoulders slump and the glow of his optics softens and if Cosmos didn’t know any better he’d say that Soundwave looked… sad.

“He feels as though I’ve stolen everything that he is or ever could be before he was even created,” Soundwave moves back and replaces his visor and face mask, “and so he must steal away anything that is precious or significant to me which is where you come in.”

Cosmos jolts, his spark stuttering in his chest, “Me? How so?”

Soundwave gets up and gestures casually to Cosmos, “How much effort and energy I’ve put into obtaining you will not go unnoticed by Soundblaster. The best scenario is that he will invite us to his base under the guise of wanting to undermine some competition or something more inaine if he’s truly desperate. If not, there is some business I actually need to deal with that requires his… input.”

Cosmos stands up to meet Soundwave carefully, his legs feeling unsteady. He blames it on the loss of energon.

“Obtain me? What do you mean by that?”

Soundwave puts his hand on Cosmos’ back to steady him, “You’re a skilled bounty hunter with a consistent employer who wouldn’t want to lose you but business is business and if they can be outbid then there’s no reason for you to linger. The tricky part was avoiding you exchanging my person for a rather sizable reward. With you in my hand my influence can only stand to increase.”

“Which…” Cosmos steps away from Soundwave’s touch, “Which means Soundblaster will try to obtain me.”

“Exactly right and you’re going to let him think he’s succeeding which will give me time to search his base for the diamond,” Soundwave sounds so confident Cosmos starts to feel a little peeved.

“And what makes you so sure that you’ll be able to outsmart him?” Cosmos crosses his arms.

Soundwave steps into Cosmos’ space keeping his hands away but he looms over the mech, his face close to Cosmos’, “Because I always get what I want. I know Soundblaster better than he knows himself. He’ll put himself right into my trap.”

Cosmos takes a moment to even his vents and clears his intake, “Then what’s the exit strategy.”

“Leave as easily as we came in broad daylight to lower any kind of suspicion. He’ll notice eventually of course, but not before we’re a few galaxies away,” Soundwave lets his hands rest on his hips, “Then we’ll part ways, the data unit with you and the diamond with me.”

Cosmos stares at him dubiously, “You make it sound so easy. Something is going to go wrong, you do know that right?”

Soundwave waves him off and starts heading to the wash racks, “I assure you I have contingencies in place, you needn’t worry about that. If you play your part well, he’ll be too busy with you to be suspicious of me.”

The door closes behind Soundwave leaving Cosmos alone in the berthroom to think over just what he’s gotten himself into. Logistically, going along with Soundwave’s plan would be easier than trying to either bring in the mech himself or steal the data unit of him with both options likely ending in him getting shot. With his injury he likely wouldn’t last long in another fight against Soundwave. He just doesn’t appreciate being the bait in all of this.

Instinctively, Cosmos’ hand brushes over the tended wound, the mesh soft against his touch. Soundwave would’ve had to tend to Cosmos himself which still seems like a lot more effort for this inane plan than it was worth. Still, Cosmos can’t complain about his life being saved since he definitely would have died if it hadn’t been for Soundwave’s surprising act of charity. Speaking of, Soundwave chooses that moment to step out, his frame still glistening with drops of solvent as he dries himself off lazily with a towel bringing the image of him standing there in the rain unwantedly to Cosmos’ mind.

“You should get cleaned off as well,” Soundwave tosses his helm back towards the wash racks, “Soundblaster has contacted me faster than I’d expected.”

“I guess the merchandise has to look good for the buyer right?” Cosmos bites out bitterly and steps past Soundwave to take his turn, feeling Soundwave’s optics on him.

* * *

Soundwave’s ship is gorgeous. That’s the first thought Cosmos had when seeing the sleek design and matte gray-blue paint job of the personal flier which only continued with the simple yet comfortable interior. Of course Soundwave would have the kind of money that would allow him to buy and maintain this kind of vessel, either that or he stole it. Whatever the truth, Cosmos can’t help the quick burst of jealousy as he slides into the padded seat next to Soundwave who’s currently starting up the engines. The wide viewport allows for a perfect view of the stars as they travel in silence to meet with Soundblaster. Cosmos stares out into the light pricked void he’s so accustomed to unbothered by the silence, flying through space on his own has made him well practiced in the art of entertaining oneself except he can’t seem to keep himself from peeking at Soundwave every once in a while. Soundwave’s hands flex on the controls as he continuously stares out the viewport and Cosmos wonders what he could be thinking about.

The trip is shorter than Cosmos had been expecting, just a mere three hours and they arrive at Soundblaster’s base. Cosmos guesses that Soundwave must like having his clone where he can keep an on him as creepy as that might be it makes sense. The base itself is anything but what Cosmos had been imagining. The elegant fortress hidden amongst a lush jungle rises high before them as they step out of the ship and onto the white stone of the landing strip that leads up to the layered, cubular structure with sloping roofs and domed towers. Water features that sparkle in the midday sun spill out from the sides of the main stairs leading to what might as well be called a palace. Well-paid guards with dark armor stand sentinel at the entrance while others make rounds on the various levels of the impressive fortress. A figure that is strikingly identical to Soundwave with the exception of his darker paint and visor walks toward them confidently.

“Thank you for coming, Soundwave,” Soundblaster greets them with a nod as he folds his hands behind his back.

“Of course, how could I refuse?” Soundwave replies a little too casually for Cosmos’ liking.

Even though Soundblaster seems to be paying full attention to Soundwave, Cosmos gets a creeping feeling like Soundblaster’s optics are on him. He pushes off the feeling and reluctantly admits to himself that Soundwave’s plan might actually be working.

“Then let’s continue this inside,” Soundblaster motions for them to follow and leads them inside.

Through the marble and reinforced glass corridors, Soundblaster takes them to a room with all stone walls and a table with a screen as its surface. The display reveals several of Lockdown’s recent escapades including the incident that transpired at the club. Cosmos rubs his injury remembering how the explosion almost killed him and that was just yesterday, how time flies. Soundblaster and Soundwave begin talking, planning, scheming, all things that Cosmos doesn’t really care about but all of the information Soundblaster has managed to procure in what was presumably a very small window of time is more than a little impressive. He flips through the reports and files on Lockdown, taking in everything he can so he can be ready the next time the bastard ever tries to hunt him down. Being a bounty hunter means you have plenty of enemies and competitors, sure but with the kind of guy Lockdown is who takes his job personally, you can’t just concede a bounty or offer a favor and call things square. No, he’s going to hunt you down to heal his wounded pride whether there’s money in or not.

A tone rings low in the room catching Cosmos’ attention to see Soundwave answer a call before looking back to him and Soundblaster.

“One of my agents seems to be having some difficulties,” Soundwave explains as he opens the door to the hall, “Unfortunately it’s urgent. If you’ll excuse me for a moment.”

“Take your time,” Soundblaster dismisses him easily, turning to Cosmos with renewed interest.

Behind Soundblaster, Cosmos can see Soundwave’s optics move between Soundblaster and himself before nodding and leaving the room completely. Cosmos had known he’d need to be alone with Soundblaster for this plan but now with Soundblaster leaning into his space with his hand on the base of Cosmos’ back, he has to repress a shiver.

“What do you think?” Soundblaster waves his free hand over the table, “It’s impressive, isn’t it?”

“You certainly seem to have all the right contacts in the right places,” Cosmos offers warily, putting his hands on the edge of the table and leaning into Soundblaster’s space, his shoulder brushing Soundblaster’s chest.

“That’s not all I have,” Soundblaster murmurs in Cosmos’ audial then pulls away, “Let me show you around.”

Cosmos records one last file then steps across the room to follow Soundblaster through his base. He’s led down into the deeper levels making the entire place feel like the labyrinth it was surely designed to be until they reach a large hangar with rows of ships and air vehicles all shining and well-maintained, ready to be used at a moment’s notice. Walking between the collection, Cosmos takes note of each model, some are pedestrian but there are some that could survive an outright fire fight between battle cruisers. In short, it’s a very impressive collection but he’s not about to tell Soundblaster that.

“What do you think?” Soundblaster asks as he watches Cosmos, running his hand over the polished hood of a speeder.

“Did you bring me here to offer me a joyride?” Cosmos chuckles lightly and turns only to jump in surprise with Soundblaster right there.  
Soundblaster moves in even closer, “I could if anything here catches your interest.”

Cosmos moves away casually, leaving Soundblaster leaning into open air, “Maybe another time. What else do you have here?”

Recovering quickly, Soundblaster joins Cosmos’ side and gently takes Cosmos by the arm to lead him to the adjacent room which turns out to be a private gun range with a full display of guns on the back wall. Cosmos is now definitely filing Soundblaster under “eccentric”.

“Here,” Soundblaster picks up a laser pistol with rather large weight to it, the barrel of it looking hefty enough it’s probably be more comfortable on something like a shotgun, “Have you ever used one of these?”

“Can’t say that I have,” Cosmos takes the pistol as it’s handed to him, bobbing it gently in his hand to get a feel for it.

“Let me show you how much of a kick it’s got,” Soundblaster takes Cosmos to one of the boxes already set up with targets at the end of the range.

Cosmos takes his stance and lines up the shot only to go still as Soundblaster comes up right behind him, placing his hands over Cosmos’ wrists and settling in with his chin on Cosmos’ shoulder.

When Soundblaster notices Comos eyeing him warily, he just grins and says, “Don’t worry, I know you know how to use a gun. This one just happens to have a very heavy recoil.”

Dismissing him with a huff, Cosmos returns his attention to the targets and pulls the trigger. The force of the blast is much more than he was expecting, pushing him into Soundblaster knowing if he wasn’t there he’d be on the floor now. Looking back at the target as he pulls air back into his vents, Cosmos sees a large, smoking, black hole in the middle of the target. Behind him, he can feel the vibrations of Soundblaster’s chest as he laughs almost gleefully. It’s then that Cosmos notices the arm over his chest and across his hips.

“You alright there, bounty hunter?” Soundblaster teases lowly, his thumb delicately running along a seam.

Cosmos vents slowly, keeping himself calm even with Soundblaster’s warm frame pressed against his back, not to mention lower…

“Yeah, I’m good,” Cosmos shrugs him off and looks back to the weapons lining the wall, “So, what else you got?”

Soundblaster grins and gestures for Cosmos to take his pick.

* * *

Cosmos taps his elbow as he swirls the engex in the flute in his hand, sipping just enough to have it on his breath but nowhere near enough to affect him as Soundblaster makes himself a drink behind him. After an afternoon of exploring Soundblaster’s extremely extensive collection of firearms, Soundblaster had treated him to some of the best food Cosmos had had in a while before retiring here, in this dark lounge with only the moon providing light from above through the large panoramic window. Looking out over the grounds, Cosmos takes note of the meticulously cared for crystal garden, the alien flora, and the tight security system including turrets that he’s pretty sure don’t use non-lethal rounds. As Soundblaster joins him, he sets his flute down to the side and watches as Soundblaster downs his drink in one go before setting the glass to the side. Cosmos’ attention is drawn to Soundblaster’s mouth which is so similar to Soundwave’s just like the rest of Soundblaster except they couldn’t be more different in their body language and demeanor.

“Enjoying the view?” Soundblaster asks, looking down at Cosmos with a keen grin.

“I can’t say I don’t like it,” Cosmos doesn’t shrink under his gaze, instead he steps forward to meet the challenge.

Soundblaster’s hands find his hips making Cosmos hesitate but then he rests his hands on Soundblaster’s shoulder which is apparently enough of an invitation for him to start inclining his helm towards Cosmos. Before Cosmos can really decide if he’s sure about this, he feels Soundblaster’s lips on his own and fingers digging gently into the seams of his hips making him feel dizzy and warm. Soundblaster pushes into him like he can’t get close enough, the kiss deepening as it gets hungrier and Soundblaster grabs for more, running his hands down Cosmos’ thighs then up his sides. Cosmos drags his hands down the sides of Soundblaster’s chest as he lets his mind fade away. He thinks about how he got here, kissing one of the more infamous trade dealers in the universe, the clone of his original bounty. It was all Lockdown’s fault with setting off that explosion, putting him right into Soundwave’s hands that had tended him, pinned him down. Cosmos moans softly into the kiss, the taste of strong engex on his glossa. They had shared energon, still a very expensive form of fuel that he didn’t have to waste on Cosmos, the pink liquid passing Soundwave’s lips set in those handsome features of his. That look in his yellow optics.

The kiss breaks leaving Cosmos panting and as he opens his optics he’s met with blue ones, not yellow and he recoils, pulling out of Soundblaster’s hold. Cosmos brings a hand up to his head and looks away.

“Cosmos,” Soundblaster calls out, almost sounding almost desperate, “I can get you whatever you want. You’d be comfortable here with all the energon, weapons, anything you could possibly desire.”

Soundblaster steps close to Cosmos, running his hand gently over Cosmos’ injury, “I can protect you better than he ever could.”

“I think… I think I should go,” Cosmos clears his intake and nods.

As he tries to step away, Soundblaster catches him around the waist, pulling him in so he can press his lips against Cosmos’ audial to whisper, “Please... be mine.”

The door opens then, flooding the room with light that Cosmos takes a moment to adjust to. When he no longer has to squint, he sees Soundwave standing in the doorway. Soundblaster steps away just as Soundwave walks into the room moving directly towards Cosmos, never taking his optics off of Soundblaster until he stops right next to Cosmos, giving him a cursory glance before swiveling back to Soundblaster.

“I see your method of hospitality hasn’t changed,” Soundwave stares down Soundblaster who doesn’t give an inch.

“Seeing how welcoming my guest was to my…” Soundblaster lets out a sharp quick laugh, “hospitality as you call it, I don’t see any reason to alter my behaviour.”

Soundwave scowls at his double and takes Cosmos by the shoulder, “I expected little else from you.”

“Then why are you so indignant?” Soundblaster leans back against the window and crosses his arms, “Did I touch the wrong circuit?”

Soundwave doesn’t deign that with an answer, instead he grabs Cosmos by the arm and leads him out of the room only letting go when the door shuts firmly behind them. His frame is drawn taught, frustration making his optics burn behind his visor. Cosmos observes him, looking between the door and Soundwave with no small amount of confusion then finds himself rushing to catch up with Soundwave as he storms down the hall. They twist and turn through the base with hardly a pause and it strikes Cosmos that Soundwave is all too familiar with this place. He doesn’t have too much time to dwell on that however as they step into a guest room where Soundwave rounds on him apparently expecting him to follow.

“We’re leaving tonight,” Soundwave states plainly, sounding a lot calmer than he looked.

“What?” Cosmos says then stammers before collecting his words, “You said you wanted to leave during the day to lower suspicion. What changed?”

“What changed was his intentions towards you,” Soundwave’s hands curl into fists at his sides, “He’s clearly misunderstood the situation and you made no effort to clarify when you very well could have. Why did you let him act like that?”

Cosmos leans away from Soundwave taken aback by the sudden venom sinking into Soundwaves tone more lost than he could remember ever being before. Then it’s washed away with rage and he meets Soundwave with as much as he was getting.

“You said to let him try to win me over, you said to let him think he was succeeding and I just thought seduction was a part of the game,” Cosmos jabs a finger towards Soundwave’s face stopping just before his visor, “a tactic he’s apparently used before, one you know he’s used before and didn’t even think to mention as a possibility. I did exactly what you wanted me to do, what you told me to do. Don’t blame me if this made it so your perfect little plan didn’t go the way you wanted it to.”

Soundwave recoils as if struck and flexes his hands as he thinks of what to say. Looking much more tired than he had seemed in that lounge or in the hall, he sighs.

“You’re right,” Soundwave admits, an emotion Cosmos can’t quite place putting a strange haze in his voice, “I misjudged the situation. You were only… following his lead.”

Cosmos groans and sits on the edge of the berth, “Oh for the love of- Stop overthinking it. You’re giving me a helm ache. As it is, I don’t exactly appreciate being put in the middle of this tug of war between you two.”

He can feel Soundwave’s intense gaze on him as he rubs his helm in an attempt to soothe his frustration.

“You say you want to leave tonight then fine we’ll leave tonight, just don’t blame Soundblaster’s behavior on me!” Cosmos tosses a hand up in exasperation, the gesture falling flat with the lethargy slowly soaking into his frame.

He’d spent the entire day entertaining Soundblaster and playing into the weird game going on between him and Soundwave, focusing on saying and doing all of the right things, always careful never to make a misstep. There was a reason he became a bounty hunter and not something that involved more espionage because even if he could do it, it always left him with a bad taste in his intake that he generally washed away with engex. His frame sags and something in the back of his mind reminds him that there’s a perfectly good berth underneath him so he stands up to resist the sudden urge. Soundwave hasn’t moved much during their entire exchange, just standing stiff and irate and if Cosmos didn’t know any better he’d say that Soundwave looked as though he was at a loss. Shifting tactics, Cosmos walks up next to Soundwave and leans against the wall.

Cosmos sighs, “Did you at least get what you were looking for?”

A faint click pierces the quiet room as Soundwave reaches into his subspace and takes out the same gemstone that Cosmos had seen on the datapad only, seeing it in person was a much different thing. Still in the rock it formed on, the crystal structure fans out into spires of segmented pieces shaped into octahedrons that then curves in forming something that looks almost like a crown. The soft light catches in the unworked stone making it look as though it’s glowing from within, the purple color turning maroon in some places. Cosmos leans in to look at it better, cupping Soundwave’s hand to bring it closer.

“It’s beautiful,” Cosmos vents quietly.

At the lack of response, Cosmos looks up at Soundwave and stills under the look Soundwave is giving him, intense and curious while his frame remains unmoving looking like he was frozen in time. Cosmos’ vent catches in his intake and he pulls his hand away and flexes it to disperse the strange warmth that had developed in his palm spreading out to his fingertips. After a long moment, Soundwave draws back and puts the gem back into his subspace.

Cosmos clears his intake and looks away, “You seem very familiar with this place for someone who doesn’t come here often.”

“I built it,” Soundwave says like it isn’t a major revelation and Cosmos laughs sharply, shocked.

“What? W-Why? I thought you hated each other,” Cosmos regains his composure quickly and watches Soundwave as he looks away as he turns distant, almost wistful.

“It was better that he be somewhere I could keep watch of him,” Soundwave’s hand falls over his chest where his spark lies, “It was no small matter to get him to agree to live here.”

“I can imagine,” Cosmos mutters then stands up quickly, snapping to attention, “Wait, you built this for him.”

Soundwave levels him with a flat look, “Yes, that is what I said.”

“Yes, I mean no, ugh, what I mean is,” Cosmos flails his hands about as he talks, finally settling on putting one against his head as he gets his thoughts together, “You built this for him because you want to keep him safe. It would be like a prison except those guards are his, right?”

Cosmos realizes much too late the tension he’s created as he notices Soundwave’s stiff body language as he nods slowly in response.

“Then…” Cosmos drops his hands, his words slowing down almost to a crawl as he loses momentum, “You care about him.”

Soundwave quickly turns away, “That’s a ridiculous notion.”

More confident now, Cosmos catches Soundwave by the shoulder, “There’s no point in denying it, I’ve seen too much for you to be able to just act like you don’t.”

Turning back to Cosmos, Soundwave catches his hand firmly with his optics blazing with vibrant emotions, “What my feelings are to my double are none of your concern!”

Cosmos’ expression softens, “No, I-” he sighs and curls his hand around Soundwave’s, “I mean I’m sorry.”

Soundwave’s whole frame goes lax, his hand sliding somewhat from Cosmos’ loose grip, “What?”

“You were expecting me to just push the idea of him hiring me as his personal bounty hunter because that’s what you were posing me as and not… yeah,” Cosmos swallows thickly but regains himself quickly, “I was manipulating him, letting him think there might be something there that wasn’t. You care about him so you’re afraid of him getting hurt. So, I’m sorry.”

Silence stretches between them once more, their hands intertwined between them as Soundwave studies Cosmos who doesn’t budge an inch under the attention. Eventually, Soundwave pulls away, seeming satisfied.

“We should still leave tonight,” Soundwave gestures for Cosmos to follow him, “Otherwise, Soundblaster might try something.”

Cosmos follows Soundwave through the twists and turns until they step outside into the chilly night air where he has to step back quickly to avoid bumping into Soundwave who’s stopped suddenly.

“What is it?” Cosmos steps around him to look at the landing strip, a very empty landing strip.

“It seems we took too long,” Soundwave says with some mild annoyance like his drink order got messed up and not like Soundblaster had taken their way off planet.

“Okay,” Cosmos snaps, feeling a helm ache coming on, “Now what?”

Soundwave pulls out a datapad and sighs, “It seems he’s hidden my ship away in the jungle, we’ll have to hike to it to get it.”

“You were expecting something like this,” it wasn’t a question as Cosmos glares at Soundwave who only looks back at him and shrugs.

“He’s thrown fits like this before.”

Cosmos grumbles something unintelligible then vents to calm his frayed circuits, “Fine, then let’s go get the ship so I can get out of this fever dream.”

“Let’s.”

* * *

They trek slowly through the jungle, their optics glowing eerily in the darkness. Soundwave hadn’t mentioned there being anything in the jungle that could hurt a Cybertronian but Cosmos picked up from the way he was moving that there must be. The ship, as it turned out, was only about two miles out from the fortress which is far enough to make it difficult to get to but not so much so as to prevent escape. Cosmos, upon learning that, figured that the mind games between these two was going to drive him insane if they stayed here for much longer. Impatient to finally be off this planet, Cosmos moves a little too quickly and knocks over some loose branches that clatter piercingly loud in the quiet. They both freeze, staring at one another, waiting for whatever might have heard them. A few minutes pass and Cosmos is just about to relax when he realizes that the soft calls of the nocturnal birds had gone completely silent as well. A low growl like rocks grinding against each other reverberates from behind Cosmos and they look to find a set of four eyes reflecting in the moonlight at them.

Soundwave grabs Cosmos’ arm and begins dragging him away, “Run!”

They crash through branches and shrubs as they speed through the jungle, caring very little about how much noise they made now. Eventually, they break from the tree line into a clearing where the ship rests like a beacon of hope making Cosmos gasp with relief. From behind them a roar sounds and Cosmos hears something heavy hit Soundwave, dragging the mech down and out of Cosmos’ grasp. He doesn’t remember when it happened but the feeling of Soundwave’s hand ripped out of his makes his spark sink as he turns to see a silvery-gray creature pinning down Soundwave with its claw sunk deep into his plating on his shoulder. It pulls its lips back in a terrible snarl revealing sharp teeth that could likely rip through steel. On instinct, Cosmos pulls out his blaster and shoots at the creature, the heat of the blast grazing its thick pelt making it yelp and leap back, giving Cosmos enough space to pull Soundwave to his pedes. The thing shakes off the attack and hunches in preparation of another attack. Cosmos can see the shot did nothing more than singe the fur on its back but he shoots at it again all the same, deterring it from attacking immediately.

They hurry the rest of the way to the ship, Cosmos keeping an eye on the thing as it hunted them, weaving about the clearing until Soundwave gets the door open and they both turn their backs to the thing to hurry inside. Whipping around as soon as he steps onto the ship, Cosmos fires off at the creature rapidly to deter its path towards them until the ramp up to the ship is three quarters closed. They watch as the thing comes barreling towards them once the blasts abate and see it pounce at them only for the ramp to spring up the rest of the way and lock into the place in time for it to crash against the metal creating a dull thud. The creature growls and roars from outside the ship, its claws sinking into the metal to get at them but thankfully the hull of the ship is far thicker than Cybertronian armor. All the same, they move to the cockpit and Soundwave starts the engines and as soon as Cosmos sits down they’re taking off into the atmosphere, breaking through it at high speed before shifting to warp as they hit space and float gently among the stars. The take off either left the thing on the ground or as a bloody mist in the atmosphere but Cosmos doesn’t care which, he’s just relieved that they were able to escape the damn thing.

Soundwave puts the ship into autopilot and gets up shakily before stumbling to the back of the cockpit that leads to the rest of the ship only to slump loudly and heavily against the wall. Cosmos leaps up and goes to his side to pause at the sight of the gouges in Soundwave’s armor that are now pink with energon that trickles down his frame. Quickly, Cosmos bends down and wraps one of Soundwave’s arms over his shoulders, lifting him unsteadily to his pedes before half carrying him to a bench and sets him down. Rummaging through the ship, Cosmos eventually finds the first aid kit returns to Soundwave to diligently clean the wound and stemmy the flow of energon. He carefully pushes at the exposed cables and thankfully doesn’t find any damaged circuits, only a few shredded fuel lines which are any easy enough fix. It takes an hour or so to carefully cut away the damaged lines and solder in new pieces, taking longer than it normally would with how careful he’s being to spare Soundwave any undue pain but by the end of it, he’s satisfied with his work. He prods the lines gently to make sure there are no leaks then takes out the mesh and cuts it to the shape of the wounds and smooths it out on Soundwave’s plating.

As he puts away the supplies, Cosmos notices Soundwave staring at him or, more specifically, his hands. Repressing the strange feeling running down his back, he finishes cleaning up and hands Soundwave a rag to clean the rest of the energon off his frame.

“Thank you,” Soundwave’s voice startles Cosmos as he shuts the compartment that he had originally found the kit in and he turns back to look at Soundwave who’s now clean and looking much better.

Cosmos shrugs one shoulder and gestures to his own wound, “I think we can just consider ourselves even now.”

Soundwave looks like he’s about to say something before thinking better of it and stands up only saying, “We should arrive at our destination in an hour. Until then, we should get some rest.”

“Where are we going exactly?”

“A galactic trade planet in the Vicor system.”

“You mean the one that trades specifically in narcotics and strippers,” Cosmos drones, unamused by this development.

“Where the shopkeepers specialize in keeping things hidden and secret, yes,” Soundwave looks over at Cosmos with a conspiratory glance.

“You think that Soundblaster is going to track us down?” Cosmos asks as he follows Soundwave back to the cockpit.

“No, his pride won’t allow it,” Soundwave grunts in pain as he settles into his seat, gripping his shoulder, “There are, however, other individuals interested in our movements.”

“You’ve been wrong before,” Cosmos leans back in his chair, feeling recharge begin to consume him as his frame sinks into the soft padding.

Soundwave looks out the viewport for a moment then murmurs, “Perhaps.”

* * *

Cosmos is awoken to the sound of nightlife and opens his optics to a scene of bright advertisements in a very large assortment of languages on display on buildings of varying states of repair with people of all kinds weaving between them. He shakes of his grogginess and stands up to find Soundwave nowhere on the ship. Going down the ramp, he finds Soundwave talking to another mech, handing him some Shanix to complete whatever deal they just made. He steps next to Soundwave just as the other mech leaves and watches them go.

“What was that about?”

“Our arrival wouldn’t have gone unnoticed,” Soundwave explains as he presses a few commands on a control, locking up the ship, “They’re skilled in clogging forums and signals with junk info which will keep us hidden for a while. It should be long enough for us to get some fuel and decent recharge before parting ways.”

Cosmos shifts his weight and considers the places around them, “I don’t think this place was built for decent recharge.”

“Helex, the planet of endless night,” Soundwave nods, “or more colloquially known as a ‘party planet’. It’s a tourist attraction so it has some hotels.”

“Of a particular quality,” Cosmos mutters.

“What?” Soundwave turns to Cosmos for an explanation but he only shakes his helm at the clearly clueless spy.

Cosmos bumps Soundwave lightly with his fist as he starts walking away, “Come on, let’s go get some fuel. You’re buying.”

“Why is that exactly?” Soundwave asks, amused as he catches up with Cosmos.

“Consider it repayment for ‘emotional damages’ during that job of yours,” Cosmos snarks but pulls back when he sees Soundwave recoil harshly.

“Yes, I suppose I should apologize for that as well,” Soundwave nods and goes quiet.

They walk down the busy street for a while, the space between them uncomfortably quiet even with the ruckus of muffled club music, laughter, chatter, and other noises you hear in a place like this booming from all around them. Cosmo rubs the back of his helm as he kicks himself mentally.

Cosmos tugs down Soundwave’s good shoulder and, in a much lighter tone, says, “Hey, I meant it. You buy me something to eat and all’s forgiven. Sound good?”

Soundwave’s visor lights up in a way that Cosmos knows it means he’s smiling, “Sounds good.”

“Yeah,” Cosmos chuckles a little uneasily, “and let’s find a place that doesn’t have dancers, strippers, or… yeah.”

“Yes,” Soundwave clears his intake, “that would be ideal.”

* * *

It takes them three hours before they find the only place in what was probably a one mile radius of the ship that didn’t have any over-eager wait staff which turned out to be a little hole in the wall that the local synthetic residents seem to like. The little synth-noodle shop is small and out of the way enough that the greater noise of the city doesn’t reach it making it blissfully quiet. It’s downright cozy with the warmth of cooking and the smells of the food wafting through the place. They take a seat at the counter, ignoring the looks of the other customers who turn away once they see the two of them are there for the same reason the rest of them were: to eat something in peace. Soundwave puts down some Shanix and without even asking them what their order is, two bowls of silicon noodles in zinc-petrol broth with various garnishes are put in front of them. Cosmos doesn’t complain, just happy to have something after the day he’s had and picks up the utensils to start digging in. Upon the first bite, Cosmos is very glad they found this place and starts eating up his fuel in earnest. The proprietor nods, satisfied with Cosmos’ eager response and goes back to reading their datapad.

The place fills with soft conversation and the sounds of eating around them as they eat. This whole place feels like an oasis, the eye of the storm with the rapid life of the planet happening around them, constantly moving and changing while they were still and calm. That’s when Cosmos realizes he’s sharing this moment with Soundwave, a spy of a highly notorious reputation who, Cosmos discovered today, loves his little brother and looks very cute eating noodles.

The doors to the shop bust open in a crash and all at once, every customer and the chef pull out various guns and point them at the entrance.

“Oh, come on!” Cosmos shouts, giving a passing glance to his half-finished bowl before turning to see what idiot decided to bust up this place.

A very familiar silhouette steps through the cloud of dust and rests a long-barreled gun on his shoulder.

“Lockdown,” Soundwave acknowledges, still not pulling out a weapon.

Cosmos glares at him, hoping he’d get the hint. Even he had at least a pistol in his hand. How cocky could this guy get?

“You really should find better agents or at least more loyal ones,” Lockdown drawls, lowering his gun to point at Soundwave, “As soon as you touched down planetside, that little muddler you paid off went running straight to me to let me know my special guest had arrived.”

“An unfortunate development, certainly,” Soundwave cants back on hips and spreads out his arms, “I suppose now will have to do.”

Soundwave lets out a blast from his speakers, knocking back Lockdown’s goons but he remains where he stands but with his arms crossed over his face to shield himself.

After Soundwave relents, Lockdown lowers his guard and taunts, “Ha! You really think I’d fall for the same trick tw-”

Lockdown gets cut off by Soundwave’s fist connecting with his jaw in an uppercut that happened so fast that Cosmos hadn’t been able to track it. Soundwave disarms Lockdown in one swift motion and knocks him back. With the dust settled enough, the customers shoot out into the crowd of goons that fall one by one under the barrage of gunfire. Lockdown manages to evade it and throws down a smoke grenade that clouds the place with choking debris before he runs off into the street. Cosmos sees Soundwave disappear after him and curses under his vent before chasing after the two of them only to come upon an empty alley. He looks around frantically as he pulls out the high powered gun he snagged from Soundblaster and listens carefully. The sound of running catches his attention and he’s off, barreling down an alley until he comes upon the scene of Lockdown pointing a gun at Soundwave who looks worn and dented. Lockdown is worse for wear physically but he has a gun.

“Heh, looks like this is the end of the line for you, Soundwave,” Lockdown chuckles darkly as energon runs down from the corner of his mouth, “I can’t wait to put your helm up on my wall.”

Cosmos stops and brings up the gun, the sound of the safety clicking off is enough to get Lockdown to turn towards him in time to see the blast leave the gun before it tears through his chest. Lockdown looks dumbly down at the scorched hole in his chest as he stumbles back until his spark flickers out and he falls to the ground, dead. Venting hard, Cosmos stares at the rapidly greying corpse, lowering his gun down slowly only to jump as a hand lands on his shoulder.

“Cosmos,” Soundwave’s steady voice pulls him back to reality, “are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Cosmos hisses, putting the gun away.

“Where did you get that?” Soundwave stares at the space the gun was.

“I snagged it off Soundblaster,” Cosmos responds and starts heading back down the alley, leaving the corpse to rust.

Soundwave rushes after him, “You did?”

Cosmos would feel a little guilty if Soundwave didn’t sound so amused so he assumes that it was fine.

“I liked it,” Cosmos shrugs and Soundwave laughs.

Cosmos stops in his tracks and looks at Soundwave’s uncovered smiling face, the sound of his laughter, bright and deep ringing in his audials. He watches mutely as Soundwave walks the rest of the way to the shop that now has a gaping hole in it and hands the owner a lot more Shanix than Comos thought was reasonable to hold on your person at any given time.

“I apologize for the trouble we’ve caused,” Soundwave keeps his tone sincere but Cosmos can see the glint in his optics, “Is that enough to cover damages?”

The owner counts through and gives him a sharp nod before ducking back inside. With that business settled, Soundwave walks back over to Cosmos.

“I think maybe now would be a good time to find someplace to rest,” Soundwave suggests as he pulls up a map of the area on his datapad.

“So long as no one and nothing else tries to kill us today,” Cosmos grumbles, looking sorrowfully at the restaurant he’ll probably never be let back into.

Soundwave has the audacity to smirk and says softly, “Isn’t that our life though?”

Cosmos scowls at him but doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t say anything during the entire process of finding and acquiring a place to stay the night.

* * *

Cosmos thinks he probably should have paid more attention to what Soundwave had been doing because now he was standing in the middle of a couple’s suite in a love hotel of all things. Soundwave seems nonplussed by the entire situation as he makes two cubes of energon he’s purchased along the way and hands one to Cosmos who downs it one go. It fills his tanks but it only reminds him of how their dinner went incomplete in the first place.

“Why are we here?” Cosmos roughly sets his now empty cube down on the counter getting Soundwave to look at him.

After a moment, Soundwave downs the rest of his energon and sets the empty cube down.

“It was either this or the unit that’s attached to a club, everywhere else within a comfortable range is booked solid,” Soundwave explains in his matter-of-fact way that only manages to tick off Cosmos even more.

“Fine, fine,” Cosmos waves it off then points accusingly at Soundwave, “Then let’s talk about how you knew something like that was going to happen.”

Soundwave sighs as his expression becomes disappointed, at who exactly, Cosmos can’t tell.

“Lockdown was right about me choosing the wrong agent, this all happened much faster than I anticipated,” he puts his hands on his hips and shakes his helm slowly.

Cosmos feels a hot flash of rage rush through him and curls his hands into fists and speaks low, “I don’t appreciate being used as bait.”

“You weren’t supposed to be, he wasn’t supposed to find my location that quickly. The plan was for him to find me after we had separated.”

“You actually planned for him to be able to hunt you down…”

Cosmos couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Yes, it didn’t happen as I intended but it still ended with acceptable results.”

“Acceptable…” Cosmos’ optics flicker as he stares in shock at Soundwave then his anger boils up again, “You cocky glitch! You could have died! We both could have died!”

Cosmos moves his hand blindly toward Soundwave who catches it easily so he brings up his other hand which Soundwave also catches but he doesn’t care, he wasn’t really aiming to hurt him anyway. He’s just so angry and he doesn’t know why. Soundwave pushes him against a wall so his hands are above his head. Cosmos glares up at Soundwave who’s very close now, too close. Soundwave shifts his hands minutely on Cosmos’ wrists making Cosmos’ vents hitch.

“I’m sorry,” Soundwave speaks low, “I should have been more careful. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“What could you have been thinking about that made you make such a stupid mistake?” Cosmos snaps.

Soundwave just stares down at Cosmos, his optics flicking down noticeably before returning to Cosmos’. Cosmos lets his mask slide away again and Soundwave lowers his helm until noses are brushing and pauses, his vents puffing softly against Cosmos’ lips. Pushing forward, Cosmos melds his lips to Soundwave’s who pushes back, pressing his frame against Cosmos. Soundwave’s hands slide stiltedly down Cosmos’ arm and down the sides of his chassis to stop at his hips, grabbing them tightly. Cosmos gets ahold of the sides of Soundwave’s helm, pulling him in closer to deepen the kiss, their glossas messily mashing into one another.

“You’re insane,” Cosmos gasps against Soundwave’s lips then kisses him again.

Breaking again he continues, “and wreckless.”

Cosmos moans into the kiss as Soundwave’s fingers find sensitive seams then breaks away again, “and bold.”

“I know,” Soundwave rumbles then hikes up Cosmos so his legs around his waist, “I hope that doesn’t-”

Cosmos interrupts him with another kiss then whispers, “I like it.”

With hunger in his optics, Soundwave carries Cosmos to the berth and lays him down gently then pulls away enough to kiss Cosmos’ chest then moves down lower and lower until he reaches Cosmos’ panel. Cosmos gasps as Soundwave’s glossa runs along his panel and lets his legs fall wider, his hands twisting in the sheets as he does his best to hold back. He doesn’t want this to end quickly so he keeps his panels shut for as long as he can which is very difficult with Soundwave’s hands rubbing his thighs affectionately as he works his glossa slowly over Cosmos’ seams. Then Soundwave’s frame vibrates and Cosmos’ panels open with a snap giving Soundwave full access, his lips wrapping around Cosmos’ node, sucking on it slowly and pulling back to let his lips part from it with a pop. He doesn’t give Cosmos a moment’s rest as he licks at Cosmos’ node, swirling his glossa around it and sucking on it. Little shivers of pleasure and charge run up Cosmos and he flinches whenever Soundwave breaks to nip at his thighs. As he sucks hard on Cosmos’ node again, Soundwave slowly pushes one digit into Cosmos’ slick valve, stretching it out slowly. He lets his mouth fall away from Cosmos’ swollen and pulsing node once his finger is all the way inside him, thrusting it slowly. 

Moving up further on the berth, Soundwave balances on one arm as he works Cosmos’ valve slowly, moving his digit in and out as he begins to bite and kiss at Cosmos’ hips. Cosmos’ legs shake under Soundwave’s touch as his vents deepen and his frame heats up. He gasps as Soundwave adds another finger, scissoring him wider slowly and gently until he feels like he’s about to melt. A third and Cosmos feels like he’s going to lose himself, his pedes digging into the berth and one hand clamped over his mouth to muffle the sounds he’s making. Soundwave pulls his hand from Cosmos’ valve who almost sighs at the relief if it wasn’t for the burning need that builds up in its place. Shifting, Soundwave moves so he’s kneeling and lifts Cosmos’ legs up so his pressurized spike is pressed against Cosmos’ node and grinds against it. Cosmos’ hands dig into the berth, no longer able to keep himself quiet as the ridges of Soundwave’s spike rub and push against his node then against his own spike. He can feel how thick and hot it is against his valve as he’s teased, his valve squeezing down on nothing.

“Soundwave,” Cosmos moans and feels Soundwave’s hands tighten on his legs, “please, frag me.”

Soundwave vents shakily and moves back to line his spike up to Cosmos’ entrance then pushes in slowly, watching Cosmos’ face. Cosmos lets his mouth fall open as he pants and grabs at Soundwave’s hands, feeling Soundwave’s spike push into him deeper. It’s too slow but as Cosmos tries to push himself further onto Soundwave’s spike, Soundwave holds him steady. When Soundwave’s finally hilted inside of him, Cosmos sighs and grinds on it, feeling the even thicker base stretch him and light up his internal nodes. Soundwave moves down slowly, pulling Cosmos into his arms as he moves to kiss him. Cosmos can feel Soundwave’s chest vibrate against his own making his chest feel light and warm, he holds onto him as Soundwave begins to thrust into him, his spike dragging over Cosmos nodes. Charge builds steadily between them as Soundwave frags Cosmos gently into the berth, keeping his thrusts slow and his kisses sweet. The thought that this was more like love making than casual fragging hits Cosmos like a lightning strike and his spark whirls in his chest. Then he thinks about how this may never happen again and involuntarily sobs against Soundwave’s lips.

Soundwave breaks the kiss and rests his fore helm against Cosmos’ and murmurs, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Cosmos sighs, looking up at him feeling hazy as Soundwave continues to thrust into him, “It’s just been a while.”

Soundwave hums in understanding and presses his face into the crook of Cosmos’ neck, thrusting harder now, hitting the deepest part of Cosmos’ valve. His spike brushes Cosmos’ ceiling node, making Cosmos suck in a sharp vent before tightening his grip.

“Cosmos,” Soundwave vents against Cosmos’ audial.

“Overload inside me,” Cosmos demands, his voice broken with moans.

Soundwave pulls away to balance on one arm with his other arm wrapped behind Cosmos’ hips, lifting him so he can thrust deeper into Cosmos. Cosmos gasps as Soundwave increases the pace, his spike pushing hard and fast into Cosmos’ valve. In a few thrusts, Soundwave’s spike pounds against Cosmos’ ceiling node, making Cosmos writhe in his grasp and cry out until he’s shaking in Soundwave’s arms in overload. Soundwave grunts as Cosmos’ valve squeezes down on his spike as he continues to thrust until he tips over the edge and overloads inside Cosmos, his transfluid coating Cosmos’ valve.

They collapse together on the berth, venting hard as their frames ping as they cool down. Cosmos rolls his hips and muffles a moan at the feeling of Soundwave’s transfluid slick and warm inside of him and pushing past Soundwave’s spike to drip onto the berth. Soundwave pulls his spike out of Cosmos gently and lays down next to Cosmos, his optics dull with exertion. Cosmos closes his panels and rolls to rest his helm on Soundwave’s shoulder and puts one hand over Soundwave’s chest as he drifts off into recharge to the sound of Soundwave’s inner mechanisms. He feels Soundwave’s arms wrap around him and then falls away completely into unconsciousness.

* * *

Cosmos wakes up in the morning to find himself lying on his back, annoyed by this he moves to reach out next to him to find… nothing. His optics snap open and sure enough, Soundwave isn’t there. In his place is the data unit he had promised to Cosmos that feels cold and heavy in his hand when he finally picks it up. Looking around, Cosmos can find no trace of Soundwave anywhere, not even so much as drops of solvent in the wash racks. At the end of his search, he stands in the middle of the suite as an ache builds in his chest, feeling stranded, abandoned, and… Cosmos looks at the data unit in his hand and unfurls his grip from around it when he realizes he’d been squeezing hard down on it. Thankfully other than a small dent it’s undamaged but he puts it in his subspace to avoid doing any actual damage to the innocent data unit. 

Sick of being in the room, Cosmos moves back to the washracks to rinse off quickly before leaving the love hotel altogether to go to landing pads and is unsurprised to find that Soundwave’s ship is no longer there. Wanting to get his job over with as well as get off this planet, he pays more than he really should for a simple shuttle and sets off as soon as he can, stopping only briefly to fuel up the shuttle and buy some basic supplies. As Helex fades from sight in the rear viewport, Cosmos feels more and more lost. Setting the shuttle to auto, he moves through the ship to a sound system and turns on music on a random list that turns out to be club music. He turns up the volume so it feels as though it fills the whole shuttle then settles down in a seat to read a datapad about famous people he doesn’t know or care about to wait out the voyage to the space station.

Prowl greets him with the usual amount of fanfare which is to say none and accepts the data unit with only a brief question about Soundwave.

“It was just a favor for a favor,” Cosmos puts tersely before moving past Prowl to head to his usual quarters.

“I see,” Prowl watches him go without another word, far more concerned with the data than whatever could be troubling Cosmos.

Cosmos walks down the familiar halls of the station with a bag slung over his shoulder until he reaches his room and puts in the familiar code and steps inside. Not for the first time, he’s struck by how barren it is in his room with militaristic furnishings, a footlocker for his most important possessions, and a gun safe. Groaning, Cosmos sets down his bag then goes to the window seat to settle down and check his bank account. The Shanix shows up in his account but the number only makes Cosmos feel sick so he logs out and tosses the datapad onto his cold berth. Resting his head against the cold glass, Cosmos tries to think about anything other than what happened on Helex but he sees those surprisingly yellow optics hidden behind a red visor everytime he shuts his optics.

“You were tracking him down for a while, Cosmos but it’s not like you actually know the guy,” he whispers to himself, “It was just one day.”

One day. Cosmos covers his face with his hands. It really had been one day but what a day it had been. He remembers the gentle care of Soundwave from when he’d first woken up, injured but tended and rubs the bandage of the still-healing wound. Then there was that protectiveness of his, how he really cared about Soundblaster in the strangest way Cosmos thought possible. There was the way he’d looked at Cosmos when he’d tended to Soundwave’s wounds. Their quiet moment in the noodle shop, however short it was, had been nice and Cosmos had almost laughed at how Soundwave looked slurping down noodles, his cheeks puffed out making him look almost adorable. Then, finally, the hotel…

Cosmos’ entire frame heats up and he quickly shuts his leads only to shudder. Dismay shadows his spark as he feels Soundwave’s transfluid still inside of him and rushes to take care of the matter. After taking care of his situation, he pours himself a very large glass of engex and downs it in one go, shaking his head at the burn of the filtered fuel. Feeling much more tired than he should, he crawls into berth and lets the sweet oblivion of recharge take him.

* * *

Alarms blair and red lights flash overhead, snapping Cosmos awake and aware. He jumps to his pedes and arms himself then treads carefully to his door, opening it slightly to peak out into the hallway. Despite the alarms, he couldn’t see anyone running around. He’s alone.

Cautiously, Cosmos steps into the hall and walks down one end towards the main complex where the others must surely be. He takes the corners slowly, pressing his back against the wall to peak around the corner before pointing his gun down the passage and continuing. As time passes he becomes more and more disconcerted. He should have seen someone by now but there hasn’t been a single soul.

Something taps him on the back and he whirls around to see a familiar frame looming over him which gives him pause.

“Sound-?” Cosmos tries but something pricks him and the world becomes a blur of color as he goes unconscious.

When he wakes up again, he’s unbound in a chair that is far too familiar. An icy shard of dread sinks into his spark as he recognizes Soundblaster’s fortress. He gets up and goes to the door only to find it unlocked and steps into the hall and listens closely for anyone. At the end of the hall he can hear the faint sound of muffled shouting and, in spite of his better judgement, goes towards it to find that it was coming from a meeting space that was open to the rest of the building. Soundblaster and Soundwave are there, shouting at each in what’s clearly an argument. Seeing Soundwave again so soon makes Cosmos hesitate as his spark does somersaults in his chest.

Finally, Soundblaster seems to notice him and cuts off Soundwave mid-argument to greet him, “Cosmos, you’re finally awake.”

Soundwave whips around and stares at Cosmos but doesn’t say anything.

Soundbluster makes a soft sound of frustration, “Soundwave.”

Soundwave looks back briefly at his double then looks back to Cosmos.

“Say something,” Soundblaster continues.

Soundwave’s anger seems to return in full force as he turns back to him, “You still shouldn’t have kidnapped him-”

“A little late for that now, don’t you think?” Cosmos interrupts, stepping completely into the room.

“Cosmos, I’m sorr-”

“You’re sorry?!” Cosmos shouts, “Sorry for what? Me getting kidnapped or you fragging me and then fragging off?”

Soundwave looks down, rightfully ashamed as Cosmos seethes.

“Would it have killed you to have at least said something?” Cosmos vents hard, “I get if this wasn’t a serious thing, that’s fine. I get it. But you didn’t have to disappear into smoke.”

“I got too close,” Soundwave says in a way of explanation but whatever cryptic meaning there was behind it is lost on Cosmos.

“You got too close,” Cosmos snaps, “Right, it was just business and you got too close. Was it this weird feud between you and Soundblaster? He kissed me so you had to one up him.”

“No!” Soundwave shouts stepping forward to hold Cosmos’ shoulders looking completely distressed.

Cosmos turns to Soundblaster as he fights between wanting to push Soundwave and wanting to pull him closer, “Well?”

“It was, in part,” Soundblaster confesses then shrugs as Soundwave glares at him.

Cosmos decides on pushing Soundwave away and steps back for good measure.

“Explain,” Cosmos commands, done with this nonsense.

Soundwave looks at him like this would be the last he’d see him, it hurts Cosmos’ spark but he remains firm.

“We’ve been running around each other for some time, haven’t we?” Soundwave starts but Cosmos doesn’t answer, “Over time I came to admire you. I wanted to see if you’d be willing to team up with me. When Soundblaster discovered this he thoroughly believed I was enamoured with you but at the time… I told him I’d show him I could be perfectly business like with you on a job but… I failed. I’m sorry.”

“Then you ran away like the proud glitch you are,” Soundblaster berates him and Soundwave can only look away, ashamed.

Cosmos steps forward and pulls off Soundwave’s mask.

“Cosmos?” Soundwave says, his voice soft with trepidation.

“You shouldn’t have ran,” Cosmos hisses then drags Soundwave down into a kiss, “You should have never asked me to join you on a job if you didn’t want me to fall into your arms.”

Soundwave sinks into Cosmos’ embrace, relief flooding his frame as he wraps his arms around Cosmos.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” Soundwave whispers as he kisses Cosmos again.

“I was the one that started hunting you down and then like the idiot I am, I started respecting you,” Cosmos says between another kiss, “I liked it, chasing you. I don’t know if I could have ever brought you in.”

“It was fun for me as well,” Soundwave confesses against Cosmos’ lips.

“Glitch,” Cosmos tries to snap at him but it comes out more as a sob.

“I know,” Soundwave whispers, “I’m sorry. I won’t run again.”

“Good.”

Soundwave holds Cosmos close, pressing his helm against Cosmos’ and says, “I love you.”

Cosmos gasps and swallows, “I think I might too.”

He clears his intake and looks pointedly at Soundwave, “If you really are sorry, then you better take the time to make it up to me.

Soundwave smirks and purrs, “Gladly.”

“And that’s my que!” Soundblaster calls over then leaves the room.

They watch him leave then look back to each other. Soundwave picks up Cosmos and puts him on the table and pecks Cosmos’ lips. Cosmos watches as Soundwaves gets down on his knees and bites his lips. As Soundwave’s mouth meets his plating, he thinks this could be the beginning to a very good partnership indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed your gift! You're one of my favorite peeps and I was so happy to get you this year!


End file.
